Contributions to the Investigation of the Response of a Highly Curved Bridge

Category

Published on

12 Jul 2011

Abstract

The current code book published by the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is the only reference for the design of bridges and it is limited to the design of straight bridges and those with minimal curvature. To better understand the response of a highly curved bridge, the University of Nevada, Reno, will be conducting research on a 3-span curved bridge. Nine tests will be performed on the bridge to capture the different responses of the bridge due to varying system changes. After analyzing the data recorded by various instruments, recommendations will be made to the current code. As part of the NEESreu summer internship program, a variety of smaller tasks were performed to prepare the bridge for testing next year. First, a set of drawings were compiled and several spreadsheets were created to determine how many cables are needed for the current instrumentation plan. Second, sixty four strain gages were applied to four 16 inch columns. Material tests were performed on the steel used to construct the columns to ensure that the reinforcing bars met ASTM standards. Finally, a set of steel safety frames were designed and detailed. These frames will help support the bridge superstructure in the event of collapse. They will also serve as jacking points to raise the superstructure and swap columns for the different testing configurations. The above tasks were completed in a ten week period and are necessary steps to prepare for nine months of shake table testing.